Family Reunion
by Nitrobot
Summary: In which Sideswipe learns not even a galaxy can keep a sire away from his son. [implied Strongarm/Sideswipe and past Knockout/Airachnid]
1. Chapter 1

"I still d-don't really get what you want me to do, Sideswipe."

Sideswipe knew he was only making Fixit's vocaliser glitches worse by yelling, but it was all he could do to get himself heard over the beeping echoing in his helm. "Just... get my comm unit to stop glitching!" He roughly banged against the side of his helm in another desperate attempt to turn the thing off. "I've been getting random pings for the past decacycle and I've got no clue who's sending them!"

Fixit trundled over to a toolbox, clicking his vocaliser nervously. "Well... it might be an accidental feedback loop, or... someone playing a prank on you," he theorised as he dug through his mess of equipment.

Sideswipe groaned, shoving a hand against his face. "I don't care what it is, just-" Another accursed _ping_ interrupted him. "MAKE IT STOP, DAMMIT!"

"Okay, okay!" Fixit zoomed over wielding a screwdriver and small console. He pulled Sideswipe's helm down to take out the panel fastenings, revealing the circuitry of his comm unit. "Just... hold s-still... if I can just reset the module... there you go!" Sideswipe felt something switch off in his processor, leaving him disoriented for a few nanoklicks before it started running again, wiped clean of all sub routines. And no beeps. Sideswipe was allowed to feel relief for as long as it took for his inbox HUD to initiliase, and he finally saw a record of who it was plaguing him with pings for so many solar cycles.

 _Knockout._

Sideswipe instantly wished he'd just stayed with the anonymous annoyance.

Even so, he had enough grace to keep his manners in line. "Thanks, Fixit. I owe you one." He pushed off the scrap pile that made up his seat before the minibot could dismiss him first. He needed to get somewhere alone without anyone catching him- he wasn't looking forward to the discussion he was going to have, and the last thing he needed was someone eavesdropping on it.

Checking left and right behind a stack of stripped cars, Sideswipe braced himself for a voice he'd hoped to leave behind on Cybertron.

" _And here I thought I raised you better than to ignore your own sire, Sideswipe_."

And just like that, the guilt tactics were out. Knockout really hadn't changed since scoring himself an Autobot badge. "My comm unit was acting up, Dad," Sideswipe explained in a hush through gritted denta. "And I wasn't exactly _expecting_ any calls from you."

He only regretted that remark after the deathly pause that followed. "... _I'll ignore that tone if you tell me why you went to Earth without informing me_."

"I didn't think it was any of your business." Sideswipe felt the urge to shrug even though no-one could see him. "You've got your 'Bot duties and I have mine."

" _So you think that gives you a free pass to up sticks over a thousand light years away without telling me?"_

"I _think_ you're over exaggerating, and I _know_ I'm not a sparkling anymore." For once, Sideswipe struggled to keep his voice down. "You let Smokescreen stay in the Elite Guard and he's off on prison planets half the time, why don't you go chew him out like you always do?"

" _Oh, I already have_."

He wasn't expecting anything that wasn't a subtle threat. "You talked to him before me?" He never thought about whether or not his sire favoured one twin over the other before, not when he was safe in the knowledge that they'd always be better off in his optics than Smokescreen, but... well, he didn't talk much with Smoke even before the war. Primus only knew if he'd finally managed to get himself into their sire's good datapads.

" _He was easier to reach,"_ Knockout explained dismissively. _"I spoke to Sunstreaker as well, by the way. He wants you to get him a souvenir while you're down there_."

"Yeah, he mentioned that..." Sideswipe recalled the last time he'd commed his twin just before his Earth transfer. He'd been thinking of a nice jar of dirt for Sunny's quarters-

"Sideswipe?" Oh, scrap.

Strongarm stood behind him, partially hidden from view by the wall of car bodies. She must have seen the online light of his comm unit from how she mirrored his whisper. "You okay?"

Sideswipe nodded silently, still glancing aside at his HUD for any indication of his sire speaking. Unfortunately, it came while Strongarm was still looking curiously at him.

" _Ooh, is that a femme I hear?"_ Surprise didn't often suit Knockout well, and the centuries apart made no change to that. _"Finally putting that family charm to good use, are you?"_

Sideswipe juggled his attention between his sire and Strongarm as she made impatient servo motions. Sides held up a digit and hissed into his unit, "Just tell me what you want or let me go."

" _Oh, I'll tell you once the ship lands."_

"Wait, what?" The line cut off before Sideswipe's confusion found a voice. He was right back to banging away at his unit while Strongarm pulled him out of the alcove.

"Bumblebee's been looking for you," she said in her favourite lecture tone. "There's an unregistered starship coming in through nearby airspace, so we all need to be prepared for hostiles." She paused to give him another curious look while he slowly realised he'd have to greet his father face-to-face in less than a breem.

"Who were you talking to?" she asked, sliding a servo plate aside to check on her weapon diagnostics. Sideswipe could tell that it deliberately made her seem less interested in the answer than she actually was.

"...Family trouble," he eventually answered with an uncomfortable rub of his helm. "Looks like it's managed to find me all the way out here."


	2. Chapter 2

Tension and dust weighed heavy in the air as the starship made its landing, hissing jets slowly spluttering out as the engine switched off. The sound was like rust in everyone's audios, but at least it managed to cover up Sideswipe's own stalling vents.

"Not like you to be nervous, Sides," Strongarm observed beside him, still keeping a blaster trained on the craft as it settled.

"Not like Bee to be looking so calm," Sideswipe added on with a glance at their leader. As usual he took the forehelm of the situation, with an eerie kind of peace in his stance. Either he'd prepared himself, or he was good at acting like he had.

Sideswipe himself was wishing he'd at least had a chance to buff his armour and make an effort for his sire's discerning glare. Just because a few centuries had lapsed didn't mean he'd forgotten Knockout's strict stance on appearance.

He wondered if he should tell Bumblebee who their visitor was, but he figured the yellow mech's reaction would boost his spirits.

Bee's winglets tensed shot up sentinel on his shoulders when the starship's door opened, but Sideswipe wasn't allowed a glimpse at his face. Strongarm seemed as professional as possible in the midst of a potential hostile, so Sides had nowhere to look except straight at their guest.

The crimson armour had changed in style but still gleamed brand new beneath the docking lights. The door platform held him above the Autobots, but from his compact stance he could have been buried in the ground and still able to radiate a stifling superiority over them. In short, the peace had done nothing to alter Knockout save for the new Autobot badge on his grill.

To Sideswipe's surprise and relief, he nodded down at Bee with a smirk. "You look bigger, Bumblebee. I see the energon shortages haven't gotten to you yet."

Bumblebee didn't sheathe his weapon, twitching his door wings uneasily. "I'd've thought you had enough of Earth to last you a life cycle," he said suspiciously. Sideswipe wasn't quite sure what to make of their words; they weren't friendly, but they certainly knew each other somehow- just as well he hadn't said anyhing about his conversation with Knockout. No-one knew he had Decepticon heritage if they didn't need to, and hardly anyone did. Luckily, Strongarm looked as confused as him, trying to piece together why Bumblebee would be hostile to an emblem-certified Autobot.

Knockout meanwhile barely glanced at the weapons aiming right at his chest plating. "I'm not here to admire the scenery," he informed Bumblebee, descending the landing steps and brushing his armour down methodically. Strongarm was the next to attract his attention. "Though from here, it does look lovely," he remarked with a wink. While she rolled her optics, he finally noticed Sideswipe. "No, I'm actually here for my son."

Shock registered in waves of crackling EM field emission from both Bumblebee and Strongarm. Sideswipe exerted great effort in holding his sire's gaze, desperately trying to read his own emotions. Thickly shielded somewhere in the depth of his optics was a bloom of love that Sides almost didn't recognise until they were closer to each other.

Knockout gave him the usual appraising look over, but softened it with a smile as he outstretched his servos. "Don't I get a hug?"

Try as he might, Sideswipe couldn't fight off the years of devotion falling down on him, burying any Autobot loyalty his spark held. He was at least a helm taller than Knockout, but his embrace managed warm every inch of him. The other bewildered stares ruined the reunion somewhat, but Sideswipe closed his optics and tried to ignore them for his own sake.

After a few klicks enveloped in caring comfort, he heard Bumblebee cough uncomfortably. "Sideswipe, I'll... be talking with you about this new information soon. As for you, Knockout, where'd you get the transport?"  
At the accusation, Knockout had to let his son go and turn to face it down. "I didn't steal it, if that's what you're wondering. I borrowed it, since I can't afford my own one just yet," he said pointedly, folding his servos over. Sideswipe stayed behind him, rubbing his helm in an attempt to hide himself from Strongarm's piercing look. The reunion went much smoother than he was expecting, but he wasn't looking forward to the team aftermath.

Bumblebee had at least lowered his weapon even if his suspicion was still held up high. "How'd you find us?"

"Your little mission isn't exactly classified," Knockout informed. "And in any case, I could just track Sideswipe's comm line for exact co-ordinates." He gestured behind him to his son, and to avoid Bee's suspicious glare now Sideswipe had to face Strongarm as she figured out the 'family troubles' he'd mentioned. Not only that, but he'd probably broken a regulation or two by not mentioning he had a former Decepticon's comm frequency logged.

Noting the sudden return of Sideswipe's nervousness, Knockout tutted. "I think he's gotten a little shy." Out of the corner of his optic Sideswipe saw him approaching Strongarm. "He gets that from his carrier, you know. Lovely femme, a little like you, I met in Kolkular one evening-"

Before he could elaborate, Strongarm had almost tackled him to the ground and dropped into a kneel, aiming her blaster at one of the starship's stabilisers. "Freeze, Chop Shop!"

By the time the rest of them focused on her target, it was gone in a flash of scurrying legs, yellow biolights, and a trail of wires leading out from the ship's pryed open plating. Strongarm turned her crouch into a roll as she sprang upright on her peds, pelting after the run-amock limb with frustrated growls over the hum of her blaster charging up.

Knockout gingerly picked himself up and swept the dust off his armour, watching after her. "Do I need to know what just happened?"

"A Decepticon- or, one of his servos at least- just tried to strip your ship of all its wiring," Bumblebee explained, knowing better than to try chasing after her.

Knockout tapped at his chin for a few nanoklicks. "Sideswipe, you'll need to introduce me to your new girlfriend at some point." He ignored his son's sound of protest to talk with Bee. "But for now, Bumblebee, what did she say his name was again?"

Bee raised an eyeridge, but obliged. "Chop Shop."

At once, Knockout snapped his digits together with a grin."Oh, that's the other reason I came here!"

Now suspicion entered Sideswipe's processor like a virus. He should have known Knockout wouldn't travel thousands of light years just for a visit. "What exactly?"

"Well, Sideswipe, I've been meaning to tell you..." Knockout tapped his digits together, trying to buy his processor some thinking time. "When I was with the Decepticons there was this femme called Airachnid, one thing led to another and..." He nodded off into the distance where Strongarm was still chasing the thief. "Well, I see you've already met your half-brother."  
" _WHAT_?!"


End file.
